Chumbawamba documentary due "sometime this year"
Anarcho-punk turned alternative dance band Chumbawamba (who scored a fluke hit 15 years into their career with “Tubthumping”) broke up in 2012, but as NME points out, former frontman Dunstan Bruce revealed on the Can I Ask You A Personal Question? podcast that he “just finished” a documentary on the band. He said it was five years in the making, and that he made it with co-director Sophie Robinson of so&so pictures. As for when it will be out: “sometime this year.”
Dunstan also spoke about other film work he’s done, including a recent Sham 69 documentary. He spoke about some of Chumbawamba’s early influences, like The Fall, Wire, Crass, and Gang of Four, and his “absolute hero” Patti Smith. When asked if it bothers him that they’re mainly known for “Tubthumping,” he said, “That doesn’t bother me in the slightest. Most people are no hit wonders, aren’t they?”
Listen to the full episode below…
 
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From RHCP to St. Vincent, 16 great bands influenced by Gang of Four
R.E.M.
Pylon
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Afghan Whigs
Nirvana
Nine Inch Nails
"Trent (Reznor) has often told me how much of NIN was influenced by Gang of Four so it’s funny people are saying that,” Andy Gill told Gigwise back in 2016. It's pretty evident, too; Go4's darker, more churning, brooding material like "Anthrax" -- and when they started to incorporate drum machines on Songs of the Free -- feel like seeds for Nine Inch Nails songs like “Hurt” or “Piggy.” Nine Inch Nails have covered "Anthrax," too, like at a 2009 LA show with Gary Numan, Mike Garson, Jane's Addiction's Eric Johnson and members of HEALTH.
photo by Amanda Hatfield
Rage Against the Machine
Sleater-Kinney
St. Vincent
Perhaps more than any other major modern indie musician, St. Vincent has kept the "angularity" of '80s post-punk guitar playing alive. She's covered The Pop Group and Big Black (themselves surely influenced by Gang of Four), and she's gone on record saying Andy Gill is her favorite guitarist and that her style was deeply influenced by what he did in Gang of Four. Gill, meanwhile, has similarly effused over St. Vincent. If you need more on their Mutual Appreciation society, Gill and Clark interviewed each other on The Talkhouse Podcast back in 2015 and it's a pleasure hearing these two guitar greats geek out over gear and each other's music.
Photo by Andy Sawyer
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Much like what was going on in the UK at the same time, the early-'00s Williamsburg scene would not have sounded like it did without Gang of Four. While not the most blatant in their thievery, Yeah Yeah Yeahs were the biggest of the bunch and it's hard to listen to songs like "Rich" or "Pin" from their debut album Fever to Tell, and not hear at least a little of Andy Gill in Nick ZInner's equally inventive guitar style. Yeah Yeah Yeahs were one of the bands to pay them back on 2005's remix album Return the Gift, with Karen O adding vocals to slinky classic "I Love a Man in a Uniform."
Photo by P Squared
The Rapture
The Futureheads
Minutemen
Bloc Party
Fugazi
Radiohead
No one would've lumped Radiohead and Gang of Four together during the former's early years, but somewhere between OK Computer and Kid A -- when the group's fascination with electronic music really began showing itself and Thom Yorke got twitchier -- the parallels between the groups became more apparent. (You can really feel it on songs like "Bangers and Mash" and "Morning Mr. Magpie.") They also share a similar worldview wary of consumerist culture. If Gang of Four hadn't written "At Home He's a Tourist," Radiohead might've.
Photo by Toby Tenenbaum